A method for producing synaptonemal complex complements in lily and mouse

A whole-mount procedure for producing pachytene synaptonemal complex complements of Lilium longiflorum was developed. The method involves swelling of the meiotic nuclei followed by nonionic detergent lysis of the nuclear envelope. This technique adequately spreads out the long lily chromosomes while producing only minimal distortion of the chromosomal axes. The ultrastructure of the synaptonemal complex is normal, and the chromatin remains closely associated with the synaptonemal complex. The procedure also was used successfully to produce pachytene synaptonemal complex preparations of mouse chromosomes. In the mouse, the centromeric heterochromatin remains associated with the synaptonemal complex, but the euchromatin is more widely dispersed.